SOLE Blog
February 16th, 2011
SOLE Loves Cork!
You might have heard that SOLE is sponsoring ReCORK, a natural cork recycling program. We partnered with Amorim to provide this service across the US and Canada. Restaurants, wineries, hotels and several other points of distribution are now collecting their used, natural corks and sending them to ReCORK to be recycled.
Cork is an amazing, renewable natural resource.
- Harvesting the cork is actually very healthy for the cork trees.
- Trees that are regularly harvested can double their life span.
- Cork is remarkably resilliant and lightweight.
Cork re-used in footwear is an ideal re-use application.
- Natural qualities match its use in footwear (lightweight, resilient).
- Sustainable replacement for petroleum-based materials commonly used in footwear.
- Cork bottle closures are still in cork's virgin form and readily able to be molded and shaped into new products.
That said, we're big believers in natural cork and we're big believers in choosing wines and other beverages that are bottled with natural cork...
We produced this infographic that demonstrates the impact of producing different types of bottle closures (metal, plastic and natural cork). The content of the infographic is based on an independent study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. We'll let the infographic do the talking but suffice it to say that cork puts the other materials to shame.
SOLE has long been committed to sustainability and the use of recycled and renewable materials. If you didn't know, we've used recycled materials in our products and packaging in an increasing scale over the years. That being said, recycled, natural cork is an ideal material to incorporate into our products and it helps SOLE create the perfect platform for melding an authentic, natural resource with modern, state-of-the-art footwear technology. Please be on the lookout for SOLE products made with recycled cork in the next year.
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Comments (3)
On February 16th, 2011, ana said:
nice! portuguese cork is, really, the best! regards. ana
On March 3rd, 2011, Fra said:
What I want to know is will the cork hold up well if it continualy getting wet? Am I better off purchasing the other style?
On March 3rd, 2011, Matt said:
Hi Fra, if you are planning on using them to reef walk, yes, get the Sport Flips. If they will just get rained a bit on, then just make sure to air dry them and they will be fine. Hope that helps.